Air Force Academy – Air Force athletic director Hans Mueh said Wednesday the academy’s search for a new men’s basketball coach is open to everyone and anyone who wants to apply.
Mueh is searching for the Falcons’ fourth coach in five years following Joe Scott, Chris Mooney and Jeff Bzdelik, who resigned after two seasons to become the coach at Colorado.
Possible candidates include two AFA assistant coaches. A.J. Kuhle, a player on Air Force’s Mountain West Conference title team in 2003-04, said he is interested. Kuhle just completed his third season as an Air Force assistant coach.
“I hope to be considered for the head coaching position or to stay here in some manner to help the program,” Kuhle said. “I think Air Force is the best and I love everything what this place stands for.”
Kuhle said he expects Larry Mangino, an AFA assistant for seven years, to also be interested.
“The field is wide open,” Mueh said. “The fax machine was smoking today. The e-mails I’ve received today make us excited. We are on the national map. This program can be sustained and there are people out there who know that. We’ll get this done.”
Asked if Air Force tried everything to keep Bzdelik, Mueh said it did, including a personal appeal from academy superintendent Lt. Gen. John F. Regni.
“We asked Jeff if there was anything we could have done short of equaling the money that CU offered and Jeff said no,” Mueh said.
But Mueh wouldn’t say he thought Bzdelik went to CU for the money.
“That’s one of those mathematical extrapolation programs that you come up with a logical conclusion based on previous questions,” Mueh said.
Bzdelik’s departure left unanswered questions. One of the biggest was Bzdelik’s decision to call a team meeting late Tuesday afternoon, only to tell the players he hadn’t decided and that it was a difficult decision to make. But he said during a CU news conference Wednesday that he had been leaning heavily toward CU all along.
“What he (Bzdelik) had in his mind, I have no idea,” Mueh said. “I took him at his word. But I think our players were unfulfilled at the meeting. They were left hanging. I think they were more surprised than angry at what happened. I think some of the players were angry. That would be my reaction if I were a player.”
Air Force players said Bzdelik informed several of them of his decision later Tuesday night via e-mail and they spread the word.
“I personally didn’t feel any anger,” senior center John Frye said. “This is the third time this has happened in the four years I’ve been here. Like Hans Mueh said, Air Force basketball will move forward.”
Said senior guard Matt McCraw: “Coach always has been truthful with us. When he told us it still was 50-50, I can definitely say I believed him. I think he still was making a decision.”
Junior guard Tim Anderson said he believed it was a hard decision for Bzdelik.
“I think it could have gone either way,” Anderson said.
Irv Moss can be reached at 303-954-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com.
